This installment in the critically acclaimed “Contemporary Debates” series uses evidence-based documentation to provide a full and impartial examination of beliefs and claims made about Muslim individuals, families, and communities in the United States.

Muslims in America: Examining the Facts provides an objective overview of the realities and experiences of Muslims in the United States, both historically and in the present day, and of their relationship with their fellow Americans. It surveys the history of American Muslims’ settlement and integration into the United States; explores the dominant social, political, cultural, and economic characteristics of American Muslim families and communities; and studies the ways in which their experiences and beliefs intersect with various notions of American national identity. In the process, the book critically examines the more dominant social and political narratives and claims surrounding American Muslims and their religion of Islam, including false or malicious claims about their attitudes toward terrorism and other important issues. Muslims in America: Examining the Facts thus gives readers a clear and accurate understanding of the actual lives, actions, and beliefs of Muslim people in the United States.

Features:

Provides evidence-based information about American Muslims and their historical and current roles in American life and culture

Surveys and explains ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity among the US Muslim population

Offers an in-depth analysis of the dynamics of Islamophobia and its impact on American Muslims

Objectively examines claims that Muslims are “un-American” or potential threats to American national security and society

Series Description:

Each title in the “Contemporary Debates” series examines the veracity of controversial claims or beliefs surrounding a major political/cultural issue in the United States. The purpose of the series is to give readers a clear and unbiased understanding of current issues by informing them about falsehoods, half-truths, and misconceptions—and confirming the factual validity of other assertions—that have gained traction in America’s political and cultural discourse. Ultimately, this series gives readers the tools for a fuller understanding of controversial issues, policies, and laws that occupy center stage in American life and politics.

Author Info:

Dr. Craig Considine is a Catholic American of Irish and Italian descent. His first book, Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora (2017, Routledge), explores the experiences of young Pakistani Muslim and non-Muslim men living in Boston, Massachusetts and Dublin, Ireland. Considine is known for his interfaith activism, his scholarship on Islam in the United States, and his research on Prophet Muhammad’s relations with Christians. He currently serves as a faculty member of the Department of Sociology at Rice University.